The Summit Soccer Club (SSC) is an independent, nonprofit organization of volunteers dedicated to the development of youth soccer in the city of Summit. The Club introduces children to the exciting sport of soccer and provides professional skills training and high level competition designed to meet the needs of committed players during the spring and fall seasons.

The Mission of the Summit Soccer Club is to create an environment where Summit’s youth have the opportunity to develop to their full potential in a high quality, competitive program that allows individual and team goals to be achieved. SSC is committed to the development of the whole child as it relates to physical exercise and sportsmanship. SSC will provide the best training and support available for players, coaches, and parents.

Summit Soccer Club’s goals include:

To enable our children to have fun playing competitive soccer;

To teach our children good sportsmanship towards teammates, opposing players, coaches, and officials;

To teach our children the importance of teamwork, and the responsibilities and rewards that come with commitment to a team;

To provide high quality, professional soccer training so players can develop to the best of their ability;

To enable our children to develop soccer skills, experience, and a passion for the game that will permit them to reach their highest potential.

Directors of Coaching

Summit Soccer Club (“SSC”) is pleased to announce that we have appointed

David Stapleton and Darren Shimwell as Co-Directors of Coaching, starting

this Spring Season. Dave will focus primarily on the girls program and Darren

Shimwell on the boys program.

This role is the first of its kind at Summit Soccer Club and we see this as a big

step in moving the club forward to foster a level of excellence within the club

so that all players can reach their maximum potential.

David and Darren willbe responsible for allof the training within the club as

well as the clubs overalldevelopment philosophy. Summit SoccerClub is

committed to providing thehighest levelof excellence for our players.As the

game is evolving wewant to evolvewith the game.Our goal is to improve the

technical development of all players atSSC and the coaching effectiveness

andconsistencyof professional trainers and parent volunteers.

Summit Soccer Club is pleased to announce that we have appointed David Stapleton and Darren Shimwell as Co-Directors of Coaching, starting Spring 2017 Season. Dave will focus primarily on the girls program and Darren Shimwell on the boys program. This role is the first of its kind at Summit Soccer Club and we see this as a big step in moving the club forward to foster a level of excellence within the club so that all players can reach their maximum potential. David and Darren will be responsible for all of the training within the club as well as the clubs overall development philosophy. Summit Soccer Club is committed to providing the highest level of excellence for our players. As the game is evolving we want to evolve with the game. Our goal is to improve the technical development of all players at SSC and the coaching effectiveness and consistency of professional trainers and parent volunteers.

Please find below a link to view the 20 minute presentation the DOC's held for all SSC parents. Watching this presentation is of extremely high value to your player(s) and for you to enhance your knowledge of the changes being made to SSC.

The Summit Soccer Club offers an in-town program for U6, U7 and U8 players. The Academy & PreAcademy programs are designed to teach soccer technique to children under 8 while they have fun playing the game. The program consists of a weekday instructional session, led by professional trainers. The U8 Academy offers a one-hour weekend game session combining instruction by trainers and parent coaches.

Travel Teams

Travel teams begin at U9 and continue through high school (depending on interest). SSC teams compete in the following leagues: EDP, Mid-New Jersey Youth Soccer Association and Morris County Youth Soccer Association. These leagues offer different levels of competition within each age group. These levels are called “flights”. The Fall and Spring soccer seasons each last for ten weeks and offer ten games per season. Games are usually held on Sundays beginning as early as noon. Half of the games each season are usually played in Summit. Travel to away games can be up to eighty-five minutes away from Summit, although sometimes we play as close as Chatham!

Travel Team Expectations and Commitment

The Summit Soccer Club is committed to providing a strong platform that allows each player to develop to his or her highest potential. In order for each player to reach their highest potential, attendance at practices and games is essential. Missing skill training at practice hampers a player’s development and can hurt the team’s play as well. Player development and team success depends on each player making a concerted effort to attend all practices and games. Players with significant attendance issues are susceptible to reduced playing time and jeopardizing their team placement next Fall.

Children who enjoy the game of soccer but want a lighter level of commitment may prefer the recreational program offered by Summit’s Department of Community Programs.

Training and Coaching

Summit Soccer is a two-season club. Our teams practice and compete during the fall and spring. Each team practices at least twice a week; usually on a weekday after school and on Saturday. Each practice is ninety minutes long. Training begins in early September and continues through mid-November. Training resumes for the Spring season in either early March or early April (depending on league) and runs through early/mid June. Each season is ten weeks long. The Club encourages each team to enter tournaments during the course of the seasonal year. Each team may enter as many tournaments as they wish. SSC will reimburse the approximate entry fee for one tournament entered per seasonal year per team.

The SSC Board selects professional training companies to provide each team with a top quality trainer to conduct practice sessions twice a week. The SSC training curriculum nurtures and develops player technique in all areas of play. Skills and principles learned in earlier years are extended into development of technique, tactics, and strategies as players mature within the Club. Trainers and coaches also emphasize developing our players’ leadership skills and self-confidence.

Games are coached by professional trainers with assistance from parent coaches. Trainers are expected to attend at least 80% of their teams’ games each season. The conduct of both a team’s trainer and parent coaches is expected to meet the high standards required of role models. Language and conduct must be above reproach. Please see the Coaches Code of Conduct form on the Club website. All coaches must have an F license and consent to a background check beginning with the Spring, 2010 season.

A parent team manager is required for each team. The manager is responsible for team administration such as scheduling games, and communicating with the team, opponents, and the league.

Development

A primary goal of the Summit Soccer Club is to provide a fun, high quality environment in which our children can develop soccer skills to the maximum of their potential. Winning is less important than skill development. We believe that winning will come as players grow physically stronger and more coordinated, and as their tactical understanding of the game increases along with their ball skills.

As a result, in the younger age groups emphasis is placed on developing ball skills and on learning many positions on the soccer field including goalie. Practices focus on learning how to control and manipulate the ball with all surfaces of the feet as well as learning when to dribble, pass, and shoot. During games, players will learn how to play different positions on the field. This is important in the development of technical skills and helps the player gain a better understanding of the sport. It is important as a parent that you support the trainer in this approach. Soccer is a team sport and acceptance of assignment to various positions is part of teamwork and the understanding of a player's responsibility to the team. A team with eight strikers is not going to be successful. A player with the ability to play comfortably in multiple positions has more options as they develop and a greater tactical understanding of the game. This goes for young goalkeepers, too!

Once players reach the U11 age they often become more proficient in one or two positions given their physical development and skill level. The coach may place them in positions that he/she perceives they are most comfortable and suited given their abilities and the needs of the team.

Each player will receive an independent evaluation by the team’s professional trainer each season that addresses ball skill, tactical understanding, attendance, attitude, and athletic ability. The evaluation will provide the trainer’s perspective on a player’s performance and provide input on areas for improvement.

Game Participation

Game participation is broadly based on attendance, attitude, effort, focus, conditioning, athleticism, tactical understanding of the game, and soccer technique.

The following guidelines are for use by trainers and coaches in managing the game:

Small Sided (Academy and U9-U11 teams) players should receive relatively equal amounts of game time with all players playing at least half of each game. Playing time above the minimum is at the discretion of the team’s coaching staff.

Full Sided (U12-U14 teams) players should receive reasonable amounts of playing time each game to ensure a player is continuing to develop his or her skills. Each player should play at least twenty-five percent of the game.

SAGE

We are a supporter of the S.A.G.E. (Set AGood Example) Sportsmanship Program and we strive to provide a safe, healthy and fun environment for our youth by employing professional trainers and relying on parent volunteers to promote teamwork and fun as our Club members pursue their individual soccer goals.